Kitten love

The smell of burnt eggs filling the apartment made everyone glad they were leaving. Unfortunately that meant no one got breakfast. Her stomach growled as she thought about Eric's erection. She hated having to leave him hanging like that, even more so because she had yet to get her liquid lunches since joining the mile high club with Adam. Eric, she thought, would probably be willing to give her what she needed.

Jodie's car beeped, signaling it was now securely locked. It had not even been twenty-four hours since Adam had given it to her and yet she already loved her new car. It was certainly the nicest thing she could ever remember owning. Of course it wasn't her's. Not yet. Adam had mentioned something about signing paperwork but she, of course, was more focused on how much fun she was having with her new toy.

The girls' first stop of course was the 'Divine Goddess' salon. After all, what's the point of going to the mall if you don't get your hair or nails done? Jodie enjoyed being pampered by the woman she came to know as Kim. Watching her nails take shape and becoming something beautiful once again was an oddly relaxing experience. She did her own nails quite a lot at this point but having someone else pay such special attention to them was something she found she loved. Brit suddenly sat in the empty chair beside Jodie. "Girl, I am so mad at you."

"Say what?"

"You said you'd come to my show, like forever ago, and you still haven't." Jodie chuckled lightly. "I'm serious."

"I'm sorry. I've just, like, been crazy busy. Last time I went to a club with my boyfriend it, like, it didn't end so great."

"Some clubs are shit for girl's like us." Jodie glanced to the right and Lauren was sat in the far corner under a hair dryer having decided to get some curls out into her hair.

"I-it's more comp i-it's...ugh." her mind was in such a fog, she wanted to explain it wasn't because she was… whatever Brit was but the fumes must've been getting to her or maybe it was her hunger, "it's, like, stupid. It was totally my fault."

"It's not your fault. My club is a better place for people like us."

".... I'm not gay."

Brit laughed, "I just meant we accept everyone. It's actually a pretty chill environment." Jodie bit her lip as she imagined a sea of half naked men groping her, "I think you'd like it. Tell you what, come by tonight and drinks are on me."

"Really? Why?"

Brit shrugged, "When I was a kid my parents kicked me out for….not being the son they wanted. A nice woman, named Jamie and her wife took me in and who knows where I'd be without their help. Or even if I'd be alive now. They taught me that's what it means to be part of a community like ours, we're there for each other when no one else is. We're a family."

'A family?' "I'll be there." Jodie wanted...she wasn't sure exactly what she wanted but she was curious to see this makeshift family in action. Why, she wasn't fully aware yet.

"Good, you're gonna love it!"

Afterwards the girls walked around the mall, stopping at a few shops to just try on the cute clothes. Nothing more. It was nearing lunch time when they entered the pet store. Jodie excitedly hurried to the cats corner, a small section that houses cats and kittens for adoption as well as acted as a promotional area for whatever cat toys and accessories the management decided to push that month. The cats loved this as it meant a fresh round of toys and an ever changing environment to explore. Prospective cat parents loved this because it meant their potential fur baby was used to socializing with other cats. The customers loved it because it meant they got to see how the toys would work in their own homes or with their own cats. Jodie loved it simply because cats.

She was rushing to open the door to 'cat corner' when the voice of a teenager stopped her. "Uh, ma'am you're not really allowed back there."

Jodie turned to face the scrawny boy with a pout. "Really? We just wanted to play with the kitties." Jodie planted her heel unaware of the subtle bounce it gave her chest.

"That's kinda why….you're not, buh, you know. Allowed." The boy swallowed hard and imagined a host of sexual fantasies his inexperienced mind could concoct.

"Please? It'll be, like, our little secret. I won't tell anyone if you won't." The boy nodded and opened the door for Jodie. He would also have handed over a kidney if she simply asked.

Stepping into the cat corner Jodie immediately bent at her waist giving the father's a nice thrill as she picked up a cute little black kitten. "Hello little baby!" She squealed, nuzzling her face against the fuzzy shadow's head.

Jordan had always loved black cats ever since she was a little gi-"Do you think that's the same one from last time?" Lauren asked, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"Hm, good question." Jodie looked the kitten over for any identifying markers but couldn't find anything, especially with the little fuzzball biting her fingers. Jodie hoped it was because it meant that she remembered her. "I can't tell. I think I shall call her Harley."

"Harley? Why?"

"Cause she sounds like one of those big bikes." Jodie giggled and nuzzled Harley once again. A black and white adult cat landed on Lauren's shoulder with all the grace you would expect from him. "Looks like you caught a monkey."

"More like it caught me." The two women laughed and enjoyed the attention from the kittens and cats.

Jodie loved watching how carefree they played or slept just anywhere. Maybe one day she and Eric could get one of their own but with their schedules now it wouldn't be good for the kitten.

Lauren watched as the little black and white monkey curled into Jodie's arms to be cradled like a baby while Harley pretended to hunt another member of her clouder. "Jodie…." Lauren hated herself for what she was about to do, but her brother needed to be protected sometimes. "We need to talk."

Jodie giggled, "We're not breaking up are we?" Her smile died when she saw the serious look on Lauren's face. "Wait... what? Is something, like, not okay?"

"I don't know. Jodie... I've been working at megacorp for a little while and I started…. hearing things." Jodie clutched the cat to her chest, "People are saying you and Mr.Wesker are…sleeping together? I don't know who started that rumor but it's horrible. I think Monday we should go to H.R. and file a complaint. I don't know who started this but they shouldn't be allowed to spread such scandalous rumors about another employee." Jodie grimaced and stared at the cat in her arms. "Oh, scandalous means like it's bad."

"I-it's not."

"No it does. I can show you." Lauren reached for her phone but was stopped.

"No, I mean, it's, like,...not a rumor."

"You're cheating on Eric?!" Lauren had known the truth, she feigned ignorance to know if Jodie would lie to her or not.

"Not really!"

"Did you sleep with your boss?!" Lauren snapped and reminded herself she needed to wait for the full story.

"Kind of….yes."

"Why? Did he...was it consensual?"

"Um...kind of. I think. Like, it's, like, totally complic-comp-ugh you know." She knew the word, she knew she knew it but she was so flustered it was like the words slipped away the harder she thought about them.

"Take a breath and explain to me what exactly happened."

Jodie rubbed the little black and white cat's belly as it slept soundly, completely unaware of the turmoil around him, "So like, I just, started, and things, are, like totally different than what I'm, like, used to, and I hadn't worked in like...three years, so the girls are all saying things like, 'You gotta sleep with him cause, like, girls have been beyond fired for not.' and I don't know, he was like, you, wanna drink, and I was still new and scared, and like, I said yes and next thing I knew…. you know."

Lauren stared at Jodie and hoped Jodie would never be needed for an eyewitness, "You slept with him because you were afraid you'd lose your job?"

Jodie nodded, "There was a woman who refused and she was, like, fired. So she sued right? So they, like, ruined her life! It's not fair!" Jodie cried into Lauren's shoulder. "I love Eric! It's not fair!" And Jodie wept. It really wasn't fair, maybe she didn't know she loved Eric in the beginning or she didn't love him then but she loves him now and that's all that should matter. But her god, or the universe, or just plain bad luck, threatened to take from her the first real love she ever experienced.